MLA Style Examples
MLA Handbook by Call Number: LB2369 .G53 2016ISBN: 9781603292627Publication Date: 2016-04-01The Modern Language Association, the authority on research and writing, takes a fresh look at documenting sources in the eighth edition of the MLA Handbook, the official guide to MLA format. Works are published today in a dizzying variety of ways: a novel, for example, may be read in print, online, or as an e-book--or perhaps listened to as an audiobook. Writers of research papers routinely need to know how to cite works on Web sites, videos on platforms like YouTube, interviews and other works created by multiple authors, journal articles contained in databases, online images, posts on social media sites, song lyrics, and more. Instead of providing separate instructions for each format, the MLA's unique, innovative approach recommends one set of guidelines that writers can apply to any type of source. This groundbreaking edition of the MLA's best-selling handbook is short and designed for easy use. It guides writers through the principles behind evaluating sources for their research and thus focuses on the key skills of information and digital literacy. It then shows writers how to cite sources in their writing, offering detailed guidance on in-text citations, quoting and paraphrasing, avoiding plagiarism, and more. Intended for students, teachers, librarians, and advanced scholars, the handbook is an indispensable resource in composition, communication, literature, language arts, film, media studies, digital humanities, and related fields.
Please Note: These style examples are for reference only. For complete style guidance, you must consult the MLA Handbook.
- MLA Handbook Plus This link opens in a new windowFull text of the 9th edition (2021) of the MLA Handbook | Research paper writing tips | Guide for citing sources in MLA Style | Access also includes the MLA Guide to Digital Literacy (2nd ed., 2022) and the MLA Guide to Undergraduate Research in Literature
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Examples
Works Cited page format
· The words “Works Cited” should be centered one inch from the top of the page.
· There should be a running header one half inch from the top right corner (last name & page #).
· Right and Left hand margins should be set at one inch.
· The entire works cited page should be double spaced.
Style Examples
BOOK:
One author:
Radavich, David A. America Bound: An Epic for Our Time. Austin: Plain View, 2007. Print.
Two or three authors:
Coleman, Linda S., and Robert Funk. Professional and Public Writing: A Rhetoric and Reader for Advanced Composition. Upper Saddle River: Pearson Prentice Hall, 2005. Print.
More than three authors – Give the first author’s name only and add et al. ("and others") for the rest. Or give all names in full in the order in which they appear on the title page.
ELECTRONIC BOOK:
Ronchi, Alfredo M. eCulture: Cultural Content in the Digital Age. New York: Springer, 2009. PDF file.
PERIODICAL ARTICLE:
Print:
Hanlon, Christopher. “Eloquence and Invisible Man.” College Literature 32.4 (2005): 74-98. Print.
From an Online Database:
Hanlon, Christopher. “Eloquence and Invisible Man.” College Literature 32.4 (2005): 74-98. MLA International Bibliography. Web. 11 Aug. 2009.
NEWSPAPER ARTICLE:
Leggin, Jessica. “Grading System Based on More Than Just Effort.” Daily Eastern News [Charleston] 2 Apr. 2009: A1+. Print.
FILM OR VIDEO:
A Place in the Sun. Dir. George Stevens. Perf. Montgomery Clift, Elizabeth Taylor. 1951. Paramount, 2001. DVD.
A WORK IN AN ANTHOLOGY:
Shepherd, Reginald. “The Tendency of Dropped Objects to Fall.” American Hybrid: A Norton Anthology of New Poetry. Ed. Cole Swensen and David St. John. New York: Norton, 2009. 380-81. Print.
ENTRY IN A WIDELY USED REFERENCE BOOK (such as a general encyclopedia)
“Nazism.” The World Book Encyclopedia. 2005 ed. Print.
ENTRY IN A SPECIALIZED REFERENCE BOOK:
Stanton, Michael N. “Hobbits.” J.R.R. Tolkien Encyclopedia: Scholarship and Critical Assessment. Ed. Michael D.C. Drout. New York: Routledge, 2007. Print.
GOVERNMENT PUBLICATION:
United States. Cong. Senate. Committee on the Judiciary. Modern Enforcement of the Voting Rights Act. 109th Cong., 2nd sess. S. Hrg. 562. Washington: GPO, 2006. Print.
WEBSITE:
The Purdue OWL Family of Sites. The Writing Lab and OWL at Purdue and Purdue U, 2008. Web. 20 Aug. 2009.
Academic Calendar 2009-2010. Eastern Illinois University, 2009. Web. 20 Aug. 2009.
WORK PUBLISHED ON A WEBSITE:
Hylton, Jeremy, comp. “Measure for Measure.” The Complete Works of William Shakespeare. The Tech, 1993. Web. 20 Aug. 2009.
PARENTHETICAL REFERENCES:
Parenthetical references in the body of your paper usually take the form of the author’s last name and a page reference. For example, the reference (Radavich 68) refers to information derived from page 68 of the book cited above. Parenthetical references must correspond to specific sources in the list of works cited.
MLA style attribution to Artificial Intelligence tools
The advice provided by the editors of the Modern Language Association Style Manual for citing generative AI tools encourages a full disclosure of how and why you used the tools whether through paraphrasing or direct quote, and to provide all relevant text generated by the tool in addition to the prompts you used to generate the text. The elements utilized to attribute your use of the tools are taken from a template of core elements which allow you to interpret how to cite new software tools like ChatGPT. For a detailed review of examples, see the link below to the "Ask the MLA" blog.
Core elements used for generative AI: author*, title of source, title of container, version, publisher, date, location (URL).
*it is not recommended to include an author for text generated by AI tool.
Example: “Describe the symbolism of the green light in the book The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald” prompt. ChatGPT, 13 Feb. version, OpenAI, 8 Mar. 2023, chat.openai.com/chat.
Title of source: "Describe the symbolism..." this is the prompt used to generate text.
Title of container: ChatGPT, the name of the AI tool.
Version: AI tools will often have a reference to successive versions of itself, (chatGPT 3.5, etc.). These will be dated. Proper citation will indicate the version date.
Publisher: Who created the tool?
Date: the date that the tool was used.
Location: URL of the tool. In some cases, the prompt and the text generated by it can be shared publicly, If this is the case, share the specific url. in other cases share the generic URL for the tool.
References:
Modern Language Association. "How do I cite generative AI in MLA style?" Ask The MLA. March 17, 2023. MLA Style Center, September 21, 2023. https://style.mla.org/citing-generative-ai/
- How do I cite generative AI in MLA style?Blog post from the MLA Style Center describing why and how to provide appropriate citation to generative artificial intelligence tools. Includes examples of paraphrasing, direct quote, and vetting of secndary sources used by the generative AI where they are made available.
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